The Evolution and the Opportunity
by dudelove85
Summary: Shay doesn't show up for the Sapphire date, instead Cosima meets a charming British woman who promptly hands over her phone number. When the same phone number appears in Ethan Duncan's copy of The Island of Doctor Moreau, Cosima had no idea that she had just met the author of the book, HG Wells herself. A further meeting gives her a rare opportunity, a chance to visit Warehouse 13
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N –**_ _This a random crossover even by my standards. Whilst re-watching season 3 of Orphan Black and the repeated mentions of The Island of Doctor Moreau I thought, "Hey wouldn't it be cool if the version of HG Wells from Warehouse 13 was the writer of that book?" Set mid season 3 for OB and post finale of Warehouse 13. This is only something short, a two shot. Part Two will follow once I've gotten around to writing it, enjoy_

 _1_

Cosima Niehaus was nervous, more nervous than she had been at any point previously in her life. Sitting on a bar stool in Bobbie's playing idly with the stem of her wine glass, the American wondered how Felix managed to talk her into meeting a stranger from a dating app. Sure, this Shay person had a decent looking profile but Cosima wasn't naive. People tended to over exaggerate or downright lie on the internet, for all she knew the person behind the profile could be some fat, old man.

Deep down Cosima still held out faint hope that Delphine would change her mind and rekindle their relationship. Felix had been right about one thing though, she couldn't keep pining for the Frenchwoman forever. Whether trying to meet someone through Sapphire was the way to go, that remained to be seen.

Truthfully Cosima was happy to be out of the lab and away from her laptop. She had spent nearly every waking moment trying to decipher the book Professor Ethan Duncan left behind after his death. The secrets of human cloning lay hidden deep within his scribbles in his copy of the Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells. The cure to her illness was so close at hand that Cosima dedicated nearly every waking moment to the book's mysteries. Her brush with death made her more determined to find a cure but it also made her realise that she had to live in the moment. Her disease was in remission and there was no telling when another, potentially more serious, flare up would occur.

Checking her watch for the fourth time in the last five minutes, Cosima let out a small sigh. Her date was over fifteen minutes late with no message to explain her lateness. The American clone couldn't complain too much, she was infamous for her lack of punctuality. Still, this wasn't a good first impression for Shay. Even if she turned up now, Cosima doubted there would be a second date.

More time passed, ten more minutes to be precise and Cosima was onto her second glass of wine kindly donated in sympathy by the bar owner herself. Staring into her glass, the American barely noticed someone settling into the seat next to her, "Now there's a look I know far too well", a cultured voice with a British accent said in Cosima's direction.

The dreadlocked clone jumped, almost dropping her glass onto the bar. At first she thought Shay had arrived but her profile didn't mention that she was British. The mystery voice belonged to a woman, possibly a few years older than Cosima. Her hair was raven black, stretching to her shoulder blades. Cosima spotted a light blue blouse underneath her beige leather jacket along with an ornate golden locket around her neck. The American couldn't deny that this woman was attractive, the dark beauty of the woman stunning her momentarily into silence, "Close your mouth darling before you start catching flies", the woman teased with a flirty smirk.

"Sorry", Cosima shook herself back to the present, "I thought you were someone else".

"Your date perhaps?" the woman replied, "it's not hard to spot the look of a woman who's been stood up".

"Depressed with a small hint of desperation", Cosima half joked in return, "not even sure why I agreed to a blind date to begin with".

Rather than laugh with Cosima, the raven haired woman turned to the bartender with her slender fingers raised in the air, "A large glass of red wine and whatever my new friend would like". Bobby glanced briefly at Cosima who shrugged in response, she wasn't going to turn down free alcohol, "A woman should never drink alone", the woman smiled.

With another glass of wine in front of her, Cosima quickly downed the one in her hand. This woman might not be her intended date but she was determined to make the most of her rare night out, "Do I get to know the name of my mysterious wine benefactor?" she asked with a ghost of a smile.

"Helena, Helena Lake", the woman replied, drawing a raised eyebrow from the clone, "something amusing about my name?"

"Amusing no", Cosima began, "my sister's name is Helena, small world". It wasn't a complete lie and she certainly wasn't going to tell this stranger about her status as a human clone.

"Indeed darling", Helena replied, raising her wine glass, "one could say that its destiny". Cosima prided herself on having pretty good gaydar and this Helena was certainly giving off the right signals. Maybe this evening wouldn't be a total waste after all, "So, do I get to know your name", Helena asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Cosima Niehaus", the clone replied with a small smile, "so Helena, what brings a Brit like yourself to the frozen white north?"

The next few minutes were filled with small talk and a fair share of flirting by both parties. Cosima shared a few half truths about her other 'sisters', the uptight soccer mom Alison and the rebellious punk Sarah. She told the woman about her work in genetics and briefly mentioned her co-worker Scott. Almost accidentally, Delphine's name came up but Cosima made sure to change the subject as quickly as possible.

The clone was a little leery when Helena mentioned she worked for the government although the dark haired woman quickly reassured her that she only worked in a warehouse. Cosima learned all about her co-workers, the often grumpy Artie, the well meaning but fairly childish Pete and the straight laced Steve. The clone was most intrigued by Helena's female co-workers, the intelligent if a little uptight Myka and the computer genius Claudia. They all sounded like a bunch of misfits but Helena assured her that somehow they all worked together well.

The glasses in front of the two women were nearly gone before Cosima noticed that it was beginning to get dark outside and a quick check of her watch told her that she'd been talking to this stranger for well over an hour, "Crap, I really should be going", she mumbled.

"So soon?" Helena teased, "and the day is still young". The woman reached into her jacket and pulled out a pen and a small pack of post-it notes. She scribbled something on the pad before tearing one off and handing it to Cosima, "My number", Helena added, "if you want to continue our delightful conversation then let me know". She was placing the pen back in her jacket when she casually added, "Or if you want to do something a little more, fun". A small smirk flashed across her face as she looked up, her dark eyes piercing through her equally dark hair.

Cosima was temporarily silenced by the forwardness, almost borderline arrogance, of this woman. At no point was her sexuality brought up so she wondered what made Helena even suggest such a thing. Intrigued, Cosima decided to do a little fishing, "I'm flattered but I really don't swing that way dude", she snorted.

Helena lightly chuckled, "Firstly kindly refrain from calling me 'dude', it's bad enough knowing you colonials butcher our language without having to hear it in person". From anyone else this could've sounded insulting but something told Cosima that Helena had delivered the same warning before. After hearing about her co-workers she imagined that Pete or Claudia regularly tossed the West Coast slang word in her direction, "Secondly your were on the Sapphire application when I arrived", Helena continued, "I'm not exactly down with the kids but even I know that's a women seeking women dating site".

Now Cosima was seriously impressed and a little creeped out. Unless Helena had been looking over her shoulder for several minutes, the dark haired woman only would've gotten a brief glance at the app, not more than a couple of seconds. "A little stalkery", Cosima shrugged, "but seriously good eye, you should be a detective or something".

"Maybe I was in a past life", Helena grinned in reply, "let's get one thing clear though, if you call that number I'm not looking for a relationship, just something a little physical", she added in a tone designed to tease Cosima. "I'm not going to get in the way of your relationship with Delphine either", Helena threw out into the conversation almost casually.

"Alright now I'm weirding out", Cosima's guard was up, this woman seemed to know far too much about her life, "I haven't mentioned Delphine once", that was a lie but the mention was too brief to have been noticed.

"Yes you did", the corner of Helena's mouth turned upwards slightly, "three times in fact and every time your eyes lit up". The dark haired woman finished the last of her wine and began to put on her jacket, "If I was a guessing person, I would say that Delphine is a former lover and maybe even the love of your life". She left a few dollars on the bar to cover the drinks before facing Cosima, "Logical reasoning darling, an area that I'm quite talented in", she continued, "best be off, I hear the local library has a marvellous HG Wells section".

"Try the Island of Doctor Moreau", Cosima blurted out before she could stop herself, "I hear it's pretty good".

Helena's smile almost turned into a full blown smirk, "One of my personal favourites", with a small tilt of her head, she began to leave the bar, "I trust we will meet again soon Miss Niehaus". Helena glided out the bar, leaving Cosima to stare at the brightly coloured piece of paper with the woman's cell phone number scrawled onto the surface. She tucked the piece of paper into her pocket and leaned against the bar, her brain trying to furiously figure out the mystery behind Helena Lake.

 _2_

A few days after the visiting Bobby's, Cosima was back at work in her lab at DYAD. After returning to Felix's apartment she thought about calling Helena Lake. There were many pros, most involving 'scratching that itch' Felix kept talking about. There was one big con though, something about Helena didn't feel right. The raven haired woman was clearly highly intelligent and yet she was working in a warehouse for a living. If she was lying it wasn't a very imaginative lie so by some twisted logic she must be telling the truth. Given that her life was already complicated enough, Cosima decided against calling Helena. For now at least the number sat forgotten inside her coat pocket.

For what felt like the umpteenth time that day, Cosima stared vacantly at her laptop. She was no closer to finding the elusive cure to the clone disease and time was beginning to run short. The American clone suffered a distressing bleeding incident whilst in the bath yesterday and her lungs were beginning to feel tight and itchy again. It was only a matter of time before she suffered a serious relapse.

To her immense frustration she was no closer to solving her problem, leading her to try anything no matter how desperate. The lab door opened signalling the arrival of Scott, "Urgh why did I have to draw the short straw", he grumbled.

"Come on Scotty you earned it by being the best Agricola player I know", Cosima commented without looking away from the screen, "so how is Rachel today?"

"Totally ruthless, she plundered three of my farms and stole my produce for herself", Scott sat down with a soft thud next to Cosima.

"So just like her old self then", Cosima offered a small sideways smile to her lab partner, "between your epic battles, did she manage to translate some of Duncan's code?"

Scott reached into his lab coat and unfolded a piece of paper, "Yeah but it doesn't make any sense", he began, "I noticed some writing on the title page that seemed to be written much more recently than the rest". He smoothed out the paper and placed it in front of Cosima, "It's just a string of numbers, that's assuming Rachel's translated this properly".

Cosima looked at the string of numbers closely, twelve random single digit numbers spread out across the page, "At first I thought it was a genetic string that would match some of our research but maybe it's a mathematical sequence of some kind", Scott added.

"Too random to be either of those things Scott", Cosima looked over her glasses, although that just made the sequence blurry. Suddenly a strange thought came into her head, the last few digits looked very familiar. She counted up the numbers again, placing a couple of imaginary spaces between some of them, "Call me crazy but this looks like a cell number".

"A cell number?"Scott asked in confusion, "it doesn't match any human cell I've ever seen".

"Not a biological cell, a cell phone number", Cosima frowned and quickly dashed over to her coat. A cold sweat ran across her skin, she knew meeting Helena Lake was no coincidence. Finding the post-it she compared the numbers and her hunch was correct. Helena's phone number matched the one in Professor Duncan's book, "Looks like we've got a match", she said to Scott, placing the page of the book next to the brightly coloured note.

For a brief second Scott stared at the two in disbelief, "Holy crap", he gasped, "is this some kind of magic trick you've been working on or some weird clone telepathy".

"Neither but I smell something hinky", Cosima sighed, "this number belongs to someone I met in a bar a few days ago, called herself Helena Lake". She ran her hand through her dreads, "Holy watershed, what if she's a plant or mole or something".

"One of Rachel's people", Scott asked, "guess there's only one way to find out".

Before Cosima could stop him, Scott punched the number into his cell and push the call button, "Scott what the hell are you doing?" Cosima snatched the phone from his hand and ended the call before it could connect, "this woman could be some psycho killer".

"Or she could be the answer to your questions", Scott countered, "this book hasn't been out your sight since Kira gave it to you. Why would Professor Duncan give you his research just to set you up?" Cosima realised that Scott made a good point but still cursed his impulsiveness. Whilst time was short, they still had to consider the risks involved. Sarah and Helena, her sister Helena, had only just escaped a Castor facility in Mexico. They couldn't afford any more slip ups.

The quiet of the lab was shattered when Scott's cell began to ring. Cosima nervously looked down, it was the mystery number calling back, "We should answer it", Scott stated.

"And give away our location", Cosima replied, "they could track us using this call".

"Cosima she knows where you live and where you like to drink, I'm pretty sure your mystery woman can figure out where you work", Scott argued.

Unfortunately Cosima couldn't think of a logical counter argument, choosing to stare at the phone screen instead. Summoning up every ounce of her courage, she quickly pushed the answer button before she could change her mind, "Hello".

" _Took you long enough darling",_ the familiar voice of Helena Lake said, _"do you always leave a girl waiting like this?"_

"How did you know it would be me?" Cosima asked.

" _Until a few days ago only one person had this number",_ Helena replied firmly, dropping the usual flirty charm from her tone, _"and since Professor Duncan is dead I drew the only logical conclusion I could"._

Cosima's mind was racing, think frantically for her next steps, "Why was your cell phone number written in a copy of the Island of Doctor Moreau?" she asked.

A small snort of laughter came through the handset, _"I wrote it in there, it is my book after all",_ Cosima frowned, there was something loaded behind that sentence but she couldn't figure it out before Helena spoke again, " _This connection isn't going to be secure for long, I suggest we meet in person"._

"Sure you do", Cosima sniffed, "probably so you can bundle me into a van or put a bullet in my head".

" _Darling I would never do anything so crude",_ Helena sounded almost offended, _"You can bring your friend Scott along, meet me at the Hilton five blocks away in 15 minutes, room 226"._

The line went dead before Cosima could reply, leaving the stunned clone to slowly lower the phone from her ear, "What did she say?" Scott asked, almost a little too enthusiastically.

"She wants to meet us in 15 minutes", she answered and carefully passed the cell phone back to her friend.

"No way", Scott beamed, "so are we going?"

Cosima wished she could share some of Scott's happiness but she had been in clone club longer than he had. Shady meetings like this never ended well and if Sarah's experiences were anything to go by, usually ended with a lot of running. Helena though sounded like someone who wouldn't take no for an answer and if Cosima didn't show up, she would probably turn up at DYAD anyway. Making a snap decision she grabbed her coat, "Suit up Scotty, we're going on a quest", she announced.

 _3_

Possibly for the first time in her life Cosima arrived early for an appointment. Standing outside room 226 several thoughts whirled through the clones head. Everything about this felt like a set up or some kind of trap. The convenient appearance of Helena Lake in the bar was a prime example. It was one of the few times Cosima was guaranteed to be alone, away from work and the other members of Clone Club. She wondered what happened to her supposed date for the evening, maybe Shay never existed at the whole meeting had been a carefully choreographed attempt to catch her alone. Sadly it worked and now Cosima had to deal with the consequences.

Scott's cheery mood wasn't helping either, her lab partner seemed to think this w as a quest out of a video game. He hadn't stopped referencing numerous RPG's during the journey and his chipper attitude finally frayed her last nerve, "Scott, give it a rest", she snapped, "anything could be waiting for us behind this door. This is real life, you don't get a do over if something goes wrong".

Cosima could feel her throat tightening slightly, she wasn't sure if that was stress related or another sign her disease was worsening. She began to rub her neck, stifling a cough at the same time. The American spotted the look of concern on her companion's face, "I'm fine Scotty", she added, "and I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you".

"It's fine", Scott shrugged it off, "I probably should take this more seriously but this is so cloak and dagger".

"Hopefully there's no dagger involved", Cosima mumbled under her breath.

Their conversation was interrupted by a voice from the other side of the door, "Are you going to stand out there all day?" Cosima recognised the voice as Helena's, "The door's open you can come in".

Cosima took a deep breath and grabbed the handle, "Once more into the breach noble adventurer", she muttered to Scott. Stepping into the room Cosima found nothing unusual that set it apart from any other hotel room she stayed in before. Everything was neutrally coloured and the furniture bland and non descript.

Moving a little further into the room Cosima noticed Helena crouched over a small fridge and in the process of retrieving a small bottle of wine, "Can I offer you a drink", she smiled, "I find these types of conversations tend to go better with a drink". The British woman poured herself a small glass, "Of course I would love a cup of tea but the shops around here don't stock my favourite brand".

The American clone frowned slightly at the flippant attitude of the woman. She felt something was off about her from the beginning but that was repressed by a hormonal response to the attractiveness of Helena. It was only after thinking about their first encounter that Cosima realised this was probably Helena's intention. Unfortunately her friend was only thinking with one organ and it wasn't his brain, "She's the most charming psycho I've met", he whispered to Cosima.

"Oh darling you have no idea", Helena grinned back. She made a deliberate show of drinking from her glass, "But at least the wine isn't poisoned", she raised the glass, "are you sure I can't tempt either or you?"

"No thanks", Cosima cut in front of Scott, "Professor Ethan Duncan, how did your number end up in his book?"

A grim smile flashed across Helena's face, "It's a very long and complicated story, you'll need to approach this with a very open mind".

Cosima snorted, "I'm the result of an illegal cloning experiment, trust me I'm open to anything right about now".

Helena nodded and placed her glass on a nearby desk. She took a seat on the chair and motioned for her guests to take a seat on the bed, "Literature isn't my only interest", she began, "I also like to think of myself as a scholar of the sciences. I'm most interested in how accurate writers of the nineteenth century were able to predict the science and technology of today".

The British woman opened the desk drawer, revealing her own copy of the Island of Doctor Moreau, "By pure chance my research lead me towards Professor Duncan's research and eventually the man himself", Helena continued, "Ethan was reluctant to meet with me so I had to entice him with something he couldn't refuse".

Cosima frowned slightly, "And that was?"

"In good time darling", Helena smiled, "I was fascinated by the Professor tales of human cloning, that was something even I failed to predict". She carefully placed the book on the desk, "Time travel, invisible men, even going to the Moon but I never once considered the possibility of human cloning".

An uneasy feeling washed over Cosima, suddenly she felt very uncomfortable in Helena's presence, "Alright I think I've heard enough", she said with a tight smile, "I get it you're an HG Wells fan but seriously dude, acting like you're him it something you should practice behind closed doors".

"Who said I was pretending", Helena shrugged, "the offer I made to Professor Duncan was the chance to meet his favourite author". She stood up and brushed off her trousers, "I lied about my identity and for that I apologise", she added, "Helena George Wells and I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance but feel free to call me HG".

Silence greeted that statement and for several moments neither Cosima nor Scott moved a muscle. The tension was only broken by an awkward laugh from the American clone, "I think we'll be going now", she grabbed Scott and physically hauled him to his feet, fully intending to flee the room. Unfortunately their path was blocked by an African American woman roughly sixty years of age, "Who the hell are you?" Cosima asked angrily, "and where did you come from?"

"You get used to her doing that after a while", HG stated offhandedly.

The stranger merely smiled although Cosima wasn't sure which statement amused her, "My name is Mrs Frederic", she opened her black handbag and passed the clone a few documents, "I think you'll find all the proof to HG Wells' identity here".

Cosima reluctantly took the pieces of paper from Mrs Frederic. The first one was an old birth certificate, confirming that a Helena George Wells was born in Bromley, England on 21 September 1866. The clone vaguely registered this matched the year and place of birth of HG Wells but that could merely be a coincidence.

The next few documents were old photos and they were a little more convincing. The woman in the pictures was a dead ringer for the woman standing a few feet away. The scientist in her knew that a similarity like this couldn't be explained away as a distant relation or a great grandparent. Everything told her this was the same person, other than the undeniable fact that she should look ancient, "Not bad looking for 148", HG commented. Cosima jumped as the dark haired woman was now standing over her shoulder, "I don't miss those horrible dresses though, so restrictive".

It was Scott who voiced Cosima's internal thoughts quite well, "This is incredible", he grinned broadly, "so are you some kind of immortal or do you just have really good genetics?"

"Scotty", Cosima hissed in warning, "you don't believe this crap do you?"

"I've heard stranger tales, like a group of clones for example", Cosima couldn't counter that comment, she was a walking piece of science fiction, "I mean not even the best plastic surgeon in the world could match that likeness".

"Many tried Scotty, trust me", HG winked at the bespectacled man, drawing a deep blush from his cheeks. "This won't come as a surprise but Victorian England wasn't the friendliest place for an ambitious and highly intelligent woman", HG pulled a photo out of Cosima's grasp, that of her and a familiar looking man, "my brother Charles became the public face of my books, something he relished a little too much", she added with distaste.

Cosima rubbed her temples, this was too much information to take in, "Alright say I buy this", she began, "why don't you look a day over 35, surely someone of your age should have at least one grey hair by now".

An indescribable look passed across HG's face, the closest thing Cosima thought it could be was a mixture of grief and shame, "That's a very long story for another day", the raven haired woman answer with a small voice.

"Something I agree with", Mrs Frederic added. Cosima jumped slightly, she had forgotten about the other woman in the room, "I am the caretaker of Warehouse 13, a place that specialises in the unusual and unexplained and I would like to make you an offer Cosima Niehaus".

"Warehouse 13?" Scott's face suddenly lights up, "oh this is totally cool, the D&D forums were right". The others in the room stare at the scientist in amusement, "There's a few threads on the forum that theorise that the government has a top secret warehouse full of historical artefacts from around the world".

"And probably the Ark of the Covenant", Cosima snorts, "this is straight from the pages of a science fiction book", she looked out the corner of her eye at HG Wells, "probably one of your unpublished works".

HG smirks at the clone, "I wasn't allowed to write about the Warehouse, trust me I tried on several occasions". Cosima watches as the British woman walk over to her jacket and pull something out the pocket.

The American thought it was a ordinary metal box until HG flipped the lid open and it began to make a loud buzzing noise. Seconds later the sound of a gruff male voice emitted from the device, " _What is it HG I'm in the middle of something very important?"_

"Charming as always Arthur", HG rolls her eyes, "just thought I would check in and see everything's going".

" _Since when does the great HG Wells make social calls",_ the man replied which more than a hint of suspicion, _"but since you asked everyone is fine. Myka and Pete are still in Wisconsin on the trail of that rampaging Indian tomahawk. Steve and Claudia should be back soon after successfully bagging the tie pin that caused an impromptu musical to break out in a school in New Mexico"._ There was a rattling noise which sounded like someone hitting a metallic object, " _Now if you excuse me I'm busy trying to catch a potentially explosive bouncy ball"._

The connection must've been shut down as the box stopped broadcasting any further sounds, "I'm fine, thank you for asking Arthur", HG huffed and snapped the device shut, "communication device issued to Warehouse staff, seems I caught Artie at a bad time".

The mention of Artie's name triggered a memory from their earlier meeting, "Your co-workers, you told me all about them in the bar", Cosima began to piece a few things together in her head.

"Sometimes the best lie is one based in truth", HG replied, "I'm not a full time Agent anymore but I do some consultation work when required".

"Well you should be taking things easy at your age", Cosima said with a cheeky half smile and for a moment HG wasn't sure whether to call out the younger woman for her cheek or laugh.

"If we're quite done", Mrs Frederic interrupted, "Cosima I would like you to visit the Warehouse tomorrow, you will find you what Professor Duncan omitted from his notes there".

Cosima could see an excitable response brewing in Scott but HG quickly shut him down, "Sorry Scott but this offer is only open to Cosima, the warehouse regents won't allow more than one civilian guest into the warehouse".

Scott pouted in frustration, "Come on Mrs Frederic-", his complaint was cut short as Mrs Frederic had disappeared, "how the hell did she do that?"

"I really wish I knew", HG sighed, "I trust you'll accept our offer Cosima, not many people outside the warehouse know of its existence".

This was too much for Cosima, secret government warehouses, disappearing people and a woman who claimed to be born in the nineteenth century. She suppress a cough, the stress of the situation was beginning to aggravate her condition, "I'll need to talk it over with my sisters", she announced, "they have a right to know this information too".

HG's smile faltered for a moment, she was probably expecting an unequivocal yes, "Very well, if you have my number if you choose to decline the offer".

"If I choose to decline?" Cosima interjected hastily, "shouldn't that be 'if I choose to accept?' You people are being very presumptive here".

"Cosima I don't think you understand how many strings I've had to pull to give you this opportunity", HG replied haughtily, "Professor Duncan made me the custodian of his research and I believe he would want to share everything with the people he helped bring to life". For a moment Cosima felt like a naughty child who had been scolded by a teacher, "Not all of the warehouse regents were willing to grant this visit but fortunately enough were on my side".

Cosima snorted, "So I should just thank you on bended knee and allow myself to get whisked off to God knows where?"

HG opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself at the last second. She took a couple of breaths before continuing, "I know this is a lot to take in but the truth is that your search for a cure will take much longer without the knowledge Ethan left in my care". Cosima chewed on her lip, the British woman knew exactly which buttons to push, "Look Cosima just think carefully about this", she added, "someone will come over to your friend Felix's tomorrow at 10am to take you to the Warehouse, I hope to see you then".

Recognising a dismissal when she heard one, Cosima turned around and briskly walked out the hotel room. Once in the corridor she allowed herself a few moments to catch her breath. So much of the story woven by Mrs Frederic and the supposed HG Wells sounded like a bad sci-fi show. There was something in the back of her mind telling her to trust them though, a very reluctant part. The alternative was placing trust in Professor Duncan's daughter Rachel and since she put the clones through hell, she almost had to trust these two strangers.

Scott finally caught up with Cosima as she was numbly heading towards the elevator, "Man that was intense", Scott began, "you're going to take up their offer right?"

"Doesn't sound like I have much choice", Cosima sighed, "do you think they're on the level Scotty?"

Her lab partner was silent for a few moments before answering, "Would you make up a story like that? Of all the stories they could've chosen they went for that one".

"So crazy it must be true", Cosima chuckled dryly, "I was looking for something a little more reassuring Scott".

"It's worth a shot though", Scott said firmly, "we have no idea how long your treatment will continue to work, maybe it time to throw that Hail Mary pass".

Cosima thought about Scott's words and broke into a loud chuckle, "Jesus it must be serious if you're making a sporting reference Scotty", a small, dry cough burst through her lips as if to remind her that time was short. She would go back and discuss it with Sarah, Alison and Helena but really her mind was made up, she would take a trip to this Warehouse 13.


	2. Chapter 2

_4_

"I don't like this", Sarah spat angrily whilst pacing up and down Felix's apartment, "shady agencies, secret warehouses and gender-bent writers who should've died bloody decades ago".

"Yeah well who said our lives were normal", Cosima argued sleepily in response. After meeting with HG Wells the American clone had been hesitant to tell the other members of clone club. In a moment of sober and slightly dark clarity she decided that someone should know, in case they needed to try and find her body.

She put her faith in Felix, hoping that British man could keep a secret. Unfortunately that proved not to be the case and almost instantly he summoned Sarah to the apartment to talk some sense into her 'sister'. The disagreement between the two clones lasted a bottle of wine, half a bottle of whiskey and several hours until they could argue no more. Cosima woke several hours later to a killer headache and the disapproving face of Alison staring at her via a laptop.

In typical Alison fashion she flew straight off the rails and into her big book of conspiracy theories. Not in the mood for an argument with an uptight version of herself, Cosima snapped the laptop shut and promptly tried to get back to sleep. Even in sleep, Cosima's subconscious wasn't silent about its misgivings about the offer from Mrs Frederic. She kept dreaming of vast warehouses and characters from various HG Wells novels culminating in a chase sequence involving the animal people from the Island of Doctor Moreau.

Jolted away by the weirdness of the dream, Cosima sat bolt upright on the sofa only to see Sarah, Felix and their foster mother Siobhan Sadler. The Irish woman was silently yet methodically cleaning her favourite rifle, all the while casting sideways looks at Cosima. The American clone blocked out most of Sarah's ranting, up until the point she declared her general disapproval for the meeting. Checking the time on her phone, Cosima noticed that the agreed meeting time was less than five minutes away. It made her wonder if they planned on waking her at all or whether she would be awoken by rifle blast from an overprotective Irishwoman.

Hauling herself off the sofa Cosima peeled off her top and tossed it towards the bed in the far corner of the room. She fallen asleep at Felix's so often in the last few months that she'd taken to leaving some fresh clothes in the apartment. Cosima grabbed the least creased article of clothing and began to pull it on, "I think we argued enough last night", the clone moved to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, "this is my life and my decision".

"Cos they could expose all of us", Sarah countered.

"They already know everything about us", Cosima slammed the glass down on the counter, "they knew where to find me, where I worked and even where Felix lives". She ran her hands roughly through her dreads, "I bet that crazy Frederic woman could teleport in here if she wanted". Cosima looked around nervously but the aforementioned woman did not appear.

Seconds later though there was a loud banging on the door, her escort for the day had arrived, "At least delay them for a few hours, let me get some of my people involved to ensure safe transit", Siobhan pleaded.

Seeing that everyone was waiting for Cosima, the clone made an unconscious decision. She marched over the door and pulled out the screwdriver that acted as a lock. Sliding the door open revealed an immaculately dressed HG Wells, "Nice place", the Englishwoman commented, "not somewhere I'd choose to live but each to their own".

"This the famous writer", Sarah sniffed, "doesn't look like much. Bet you used to live in a palace or something", she added in her usual aggressive tone.

HG Wells though didn't seem to pay much attention to the words. Instead she calmly sauntered into the apartment like she owned the place, "I see it's not just American's who've forgotten their manners in the last century", she sighed, "how disappointing".

A small and brief giggle of laughter emanated from Felix, leaving Sarah a decision on who to attack first, her foster brother or the Victorian writer. Siobhan made a decision for her though, calmly placing her rifle in a place where it was very noticeable and approaching the raven haired woman, "You must be Helena Wells", she offered her hand, "Siobhan Sadler, I have a keen interest in the safety of this lot".

"I'm sure you do", HG accepted the hand, "but please call me HG, only my parents used my full name and that was because I was in trouble".

"And were you in trouble often?" Felix asked offhandedly.

"Often", she smirked in reply, "but that's a story for another time". She placed her hands into her pockets and addressed the room, "I assume Cosima's told you about the offer from the Warehouse and I'm pretty sure all of you have reservations".

"Given that people have tried to kill us on multiple occasions in the last few months, you could say that", Felix replied with more than a hint of sarcasm.

HG nodded sadly, "Unfortunate, if I had been aware I could've done something sooner".

"Say I buy this crap about you", Sarah pointed a finger accusingly at the dark haired woman, "why are you so interested?"

"The science", HG shrugged, "simple as that, the idea of human cloning simply fascinates me. That's what led me to Professor Duncan in the first place".

"Funny, you finding a supposedly dead man so quickly", Siobhan added with suspicion and accusation in her voice.

The dark haired woman laughed softly, "Darling you're talking to someone who should've died decades ago, I know a thing or two about hiding in plain sight". HG must've sensed Cosima's eagerness to move things along and a quick look was shared between them, "I know you have Cosima's best interests at heart but you don't really trust me". A silent conversation based on nervous glances was shared by the others, "Understandable, that's why I brought these two with me".

Two more people entered the apartment, a well built man in his late thirties with dark hair and a tall woman with long dark curly hair, "Allow me to introduce Agents Pete Latimer and Myka Bering of the United States Secret Service", HG announced with a slight smirk on their face. The two agents produced their badges and even the intense scrutiny of Siobhan Sadler could find nothing fake about them. Reluctantly she nodded towards her two foster children.

The sombre moment was ruined though by the gawky staring of Pete Latimer, "Freaky", he whistled, glancing quickly between Cosima and Sarah, "it's like that episode of Star Trek where they entered the mirror universe".

"Pete what have I told you about this", Myka sighed in exasperation, "I do apologise for him, I would like to say this is a one off", she nervously scratched the back of her head, "but that would definitely be a lie".

"Indeed", Siobhan drawled, distinctly unimpressed, "can you at least tell me where this Warehouse of yours is located?"

"Ah love to", Pete began, "but need to know only, I'm amazed Mrs F or one of the Regents haven't been around to give the big speech about security and endless wonder". Cosima watched as Siobhan's face twitched slightly, the woman wasn't used to being kept out the loop like this, "Look I know you have no reason to trust us-".

"An understatement", Siobhan sniffed, interrupting the Agent.

"As I was about to say I know you have no reason to trust us, that's why we brought you a couple of presents", he poked Myka childishly in the arm, "go on Santa, give them their presents.

Agent Bering reached into her jacket pocket and for a moment Cosima thought that Siobhan was going to jump for her rifle. Instead of a weapon, Myka pulled out a couple of small boxes similar to the one HG used last night, "Our tech expert modified a couple of our communicators", she handed one to Cosima and held out the other to the remaining members of clone club. Sarah snatched the device out of her hand and began inspecting it with a mixture of suspicion and confusion, "They're designed to only connect with the corresponding device so you can be in regular contact", Myka continued, "I warn you, they will stop working once Cosima's finished at the Warehouse".

"Yeah apparently they'll self destruct", Pete added with a cheery attitude that masked the seriousness of the statement.

"You're kidding right?" Felix asked wide eyed.

"Knowing Claudia", Pete gave a fake smile, "no, probably not".

"The hell is this thing", Sarah tossed it into the air, "looks so vintage".

"Careful with that", Myka began, "it's a sensitive piece of equipment", Cosima could see that Sarah was contemplating throwing the device to the floor in sheer spite. Much to her relief the British clone resisted her natural urge for rebellion, "It's called a Farnsworth", Myka continued, "it's a two way audio and visual communicator".

"I have one of those already, it's called an iPhone", Felix snorted.

HG prompted pulled her Farnsworth from her jacket, "But is your piece of plastic totally untraceable and unable to be remotely accessed?" Felix sheepishly shook his head, "You might not know where Cosima is but crucially neither will your enemies".

For some reason Cosima felt reassured by this, it would be nice to drop off the radar for a while. With DYAD and Delphine constantly breathing down their necks, a little time away would do her some good, "There's no talking you out of this, is there chicken?" Siobhan sighed.

"You've heard what I've said about the Warehouse, how could I possibly resist", Cosima shrugged and grabbed her purse and laptop bag from the floor, "I'll call you when I get there", she added, shaking the Farnsworth in her hand.

"Ah spoken like a true Warehouse agent", Pete grinned broadly until he saw her travelling luggage, "that all you taking?" he asked.

"You must be near a town right?" Cosima reasoned, "I can pick up anything I've missed from there".

The three Warehouse agents looked and each other and laughed loudly. HG slipped a hand around her shoulder, "Darling, you might live to regret those words", she stated as she led Cosima out the apartment and towards the world of endless wonder.

 _5_

A few hours later a black sedan carrying Cosima and the Warehouse agents turned off the main highway and down a narrow, dusty track. Still feeling the effects of the previous night, the American clone struggled to keep down the contents of her stomach. To divert attention from the waves of nausea, Cosima distracted herself with memories of the flight. It was a relatively quiet affair, she kept herself busy by continuing whatever work she could on her cure. Occasionally the mood would be broken by Pete and Myka bickering over something unimportant whilst HG looked on like a disapproving parent.

The Victorian writer was completely correct about the local town, it was a stereotypical small American town all the way down to the tiny family run diners and little ma and pa utility stores. Cosima might be opposed to commercialism but she thought the place could with a WalMart or Starbucks. Most importantly though, the clone had absolutely no idea where she was. Obviously there were somewhere in America and judging by the chill in the air not too far from the Canadian border. None of the road signs gave away their location either, almost as though the town had been designed that way.

After what felt like an eternity the path levelled and smoothed out and Cosima was confronted with the most unusual sight she'd ever seen. Across the valley floor was a metal structure, vaguely triangular in shape that appeared to be embedded in the side of a mountain. The American couldn't see where the structure ended, it just went into the cliff face and the mountain range beyond. Whatever Cosima expected the famous Warehouse to look like, it certainly wasn't this.

The car pulled up outside a small doorway and the passengers disembarked. Out the corner of her eye Cosima noticed Pete looking towards the sky, "Something in your eye?" she asked.

"Nope I'm expecting a delivery", he replied absentmindedly. Seconds later his eyes widened as something fell out the sky and straight into his waiting arms. The force of the blow knocked him to the ground and Cosima was about to move to his assistance. The lack of reaction from Myka and HG though told the clone that this was a fairly normal occurrence.

Slowly Pete got to his feet and cradled in his arms was an old style football, "Dude, someone has a hell of an arm", Cosima commented, looking around for a phantom quarterback. To her surprise Pete snapped the ball open, revealing a steampunk style typewriter, "That's the most awesome thing I've ever seen", she whistled.

"Pete, what has Artie told you about using the artefact tracker as your personal messenger service", Myka scolded.

"How do you know the delivery I'm referring to isn't artefact related", Pete countered.

"Is it?" the curly haired agent stated with her hands firmly on her hips. Pete glanced at the ball then at Myka before closing the football. With a mighty heave he threw the ball up into the air where it promptly disappeared from sight. Cosima blinked a couple of times, she thought being a clone was the strangest thing she would experience in her life, "Shall we step inside", Myka asked her, not showing any sign that a physics defying football was remotely out the ordinary for her.

Numb with the unusual turn of events her life had taken, Cosima silently followed the Agents through the door and into a stark white corridor. This was a little more what she expected a secret government warehouse to look like although she was a little concerned that the pipes had 'explosive' written on them.

Finally the group reached a second door which Myka opened with an iris scanner. Stepping through the door Cosima was a little disappointed to see a rather outdated looking office reminding her of an old school library. Two pairs of eyes were immediately upon her, one belonging to an older man with curly hair and a greying beard whilst the other was a young woman with vibrant red hair. From the descriptions HG gave a few days ago, they must be Artie Nielson and Claudia Donovan, "Is this her?" Claudia asked, almost bouncing with excitement. In a split second Claudia was upon Cosima and shaking her hand enthusiastically, "Oh my gosh I don't know what to say", the red head gushed, "this is like all of my sci-fi dreams coming true".

"Erm, thanks", Cosima replied with embarrassment.

"Claudia leave the poor girl alone", Artie snapped gruffly, "I do apologise for Claudia", he continued, "I knew it was a mistake to feed her after midnight".

"Huh a pop culture reference Gramps, really", Claudia snorted, "couldn't you come up with one from this century". Despite the harshness of the words, Cosima knew they weren't meant in a hurtful way. It was more like a daughter playfully teasing her father. "Come on Cosima, I think you're really going to enjoy this", the young woman grabbed the clone's hand and dragged her towards a glass door.

"Hey Claudia, that's my job", Artie barked after the pair but it was too late. Claudia had already dragged Cosima through the door and out to the balcony.

Free of the grip of the excited red head, Cosima looked over the balcony and was suddenly rendered speechless. Stretching out farther than she could see were rows and rows of metal racking filled with various objects. The shelves stretched up to the ceiling which was much taller than Cosima could've imagined after seeing the outside of the structure, "Welcome to Warehouse 13", Claudia beamed at the clone.

It was a lot for Cosima to take in and for several moments she stared dumbfounded at the warehouse, thinking just how impossible the whole thing was. A sense of imposing dread washed over the clone, somewhere in this vast expanse was the rest of Professor Duncan's research into human cloning. She only hoped that one of the Agent's knew where it was, "It looks imposing", Cosima jumped at the sound of HG's voice, "but you eventually get used to it".

"Is that true?" Cosima glanced at the woman who was giving her a knowing smirk, "so Duncan's notes, do you know where they are. Does this place have a Dewey decimal system or something?"

"Better than that", HG suddenly grabbed Cosima by the waist and pulled her towards a metal bar nearby, "you have me". Without warning and ignoring the shouts of protest from the others HG yanked the bar, which revealed itself to be a zip line. Cosima barely had enough time to scream as the cable shot them across the Warehouse several hundred feet in the air.

Clinging onto HG tightly Cosima squeezed her eyes tightly shut, "Are you insane", she cried, trying to ignore the air rushing passed her at frightening speed.

"Probably", the writer replied without any hint of irony, "this is the quickest way to Professor Duncan's research and definitely the most exhilarating". Cosima silently cursed the woman yet also prayed to another who'd listen that she wouldn't plummet to her death.

Mercifully the white knuckle ride began to slow down and Cosima opened her eyes. Seconds later she wished she hadn't as they were now racing through the aisles, "This is as slow as this thing goes and also the lowest it goes". Cosima couldn't contain herself and shot a death glare the raven haired woman, "I'm going to let go so remember to tuck and roll".

The American clone barely had a chance to acknowledge Wells's statement before the dark haired woman released her grip on the zip line. Cosima's legs flayed wildly in the legs as she dropped towards the concrete floor below at some speed, fortunately her brain held some self preservation instincts. Upon touching solid ground she tucked her knees together and rolled across the dusty floor several times before bumping into a row of metal racking.

Almost instantly after landing Cosima felt her chest begin to tighten and each breath began to get shallower and harder. Panic rose up in her body, stiffening her already tight muscles. The clone rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself onto her hands and knees, her body reeling with each hacking cough with a few specs of blood splattered onto the floor.

The spasming cough began to subside and Cosima could feel a warm hand carefully rubbing her back, "I'm sorry", HG began, "I should have realised this could be a consequence of our ride".

"No biggie", Cosima wheezed, "just warn me next time you throw me down a zip line". Now she had regained control of her body, Cosima began to wonder where she was. The area was fairly open with a number of devices and displays spread out across a few square feet. One contraption especially caught her eye, "I recognise that", she stated, pointing at a couple of chairs surrounded by wires and valves, "holy shit, it's the time machine from your book", she exclaimed, "you actually built a freaking time machine".

"Not quite", HG sighed, "the machine was able to send your consciousness back through time into another body but it was never able to transport you physically through time". The Victorian ran her hands over what Cosima assumed was the control panel, "Unfortunately the primitive electronics burned out a few years ago and I've never gotten around to repairing them".

"Why the hell not", Cosima had forgotten all about her sore lungs and was bouncing around the time machine like a giddy school girl, "this is probably the most important scientific invention in human history". She turned towards the dark haired woman with a broad grin on her face, "Forgive the geeking out but you're totes my new science hero".

HG couldn't resist smiling a little, "I will assume being 'totes' is a good thing, still getting used to all these Americanisms". She glanced at the time machine with a heavy look, "I haven't repaired my machine because it's holds too many bad memories", she sighed, "some things are best left in the past, ironic isn't it?"

Cosima let out a small chuckle but HG had already moved away from the time machine to a small cabinet, "As promised, the other half of Professor Duncan's research", she handed over a blue metal lunch box decorated with images of several small birds. "I won't lie I've taken a small peek but it largely means nothing to me", HG admitted, "my area of expertise is more in physics and engineering".

Opening in the tin Cosima found a battered copy of _The War of the Worlds._ Flicking through the pages she noticed similar biological code like the other HG Wells book belonging to Duncan, "War of the Worlds", Cosima snorted, "not sure a book on an alien invasion fits the cloning theme".

"Ah but that's because you're not reading between the lines", HG smiled, "the subtext of the story is littered with references to evolutionary theory whilst at the same time expressing our inner most fears about encountering things different from ourselves". She fixed the American clone with a knowing stare, "Sounds familiar doesn't it?"

Cosima nodded in understanding, "Didn't all the aliens die from a cold though", HG let out a sad sigh, "perhaps it's time someone rewrote the ending". Clutching the book tightly in her hand, Cosima knew there was a hard night of research ahead for her.

 _6_

Cosima left the Warehouse soon after receiving the book from HG Wells. She had been offered a room to use at the nearby bed and breakfast where all the Warehouse agents, minus HG, stayed. The clone politely refused any food before retreating to her room to work on uploading everything from the book to her laptop. Periodically one of the agents checked in on her, bringing something to drink and in Artie's case a tray of fresh cookies. They attempted to understand what she was working on but after a few minutes and some confused expressions, the agents quickly gave up and retreated down to the common area.

Eventually the sun began to set which forced Cosima to turn on the main lights, somehow she spent several hours staring at the screen but without any success. Something told Cosima the answer to her problem was dangling in front of her, almost teasing her but still remained elusive.

She was about to give up when there was a quiet knock at the bedroom door, "Hey it's my turn to check in on you", Claudia said as she stuck her head through the door, "any luck so far?"

"Not really", Cosima admitted with an air of resignation, "there's something here but I can't quite put my finger on it".

"Mind if I take a look with you?" Claudia asked, "I brought my laptop along, you know what they say about two heads".

Cosima smiled at the younger woman, "Thanks for the offer but unless you've got a masters degree in biology I'm not sure how much this would mean to you".

"Probably nothing but I am a master hacker", Claudia responded proudly, "DNA is basically the same as computer code, maybe I'll spot something you've missed". Cosima was reluctant, usually she worked on this with Scott and Delphine before that but they were both experts in human biology. She was open to help but wasn't really sure what Claudia could bring to the table, "Come on, nothing ventured nothing gained", the red head grinned.

Realising that Claudia wasn't going to accept no for an answer, Cosima shuffled across her bed to make room for the tech genius. Claudia didn't need an invitation and bounced down on the bed, pulling out her laptop in one fluid motion. Cosima eyed the device enviously, she had never seen a computer as technologically advanced as this one before, "Quad core processor clocked to the max", Claudia grinned, "and that's just scratching the surface of what my baby can do". Cosima smiled and thought it was a good thing Scott wasn't allowed to come, he would've drooled all over Claudia's one of a kind laptop.

"So what I've got on here is a record of every artefact in the Warehouse", Claudia continued, "how about we start by cross referencing everything you've got against our database. If anything even vaguely matches we'll get a ping fairly quickly".

Cosima frowned, "You think an artefact had something to do with our creation?" The clone wasn't sure how she felt about that, from what she heard about artefacts they were unstable and in some cases extremely dangerous.

"Dude seriously, you've not thought about that since you found out about the Warehouse?" Claudia asked, "How many attempts did it take before Duncan's clone sequences duplicated, like four or five?" Cosima nodded slowly, "Dolly took like hundreds of attempts and even your mini me Charlotte took four hundred attempts to recreate".

"You really do know everything about us", Cosima snorted with annoyance.

"Hey we like to be thorough", Claudia shrugged unapologetically, "point is other cloning attempts took hundreds of failures and several years and that was decades after Duncan succeeded practically first time". Cosima paused for a moment to think about that, she just assumed Duncan got lucky or his research had been so thorough that when it came to the experimental stage, he had succeeded almost straight away.

With nothing to lose Cosima asked Claudia to begin her search of the Warehouse database. Stretching her weary muscles it finally dawned on the clone how long she had been working uninterrupted. She suddenly remembered something else important, in her excitement to get Duncan's research uploaded she forgot to call home, "Hey Claudia do you mind if I make a quick call", Cosima reached for her borrowed Farnsworth, "Sarah must be climbing the walls panicking by now".

"Sure no prob", Claudia replied, completely engrossed in her laptop, "this will take a while to run anyway". Nodding in acceptance Cosima opened the Farnsworth's cover when it suddenly dawned on her that she didn't know how to operate the device, "Just push that button there", Claudia added whilst pointing at one of the knobs, "should connect fairly quickly".

Doing as instructed, the American clone flinched when the Farnsworth began buzzing wildly. The unconcerned expression on Claudia's face though reassured her that this was normal. After a few seconds the screen flashed into life, " _Bout time Cos",_ Sarah greeted gruffly, " _I was thinking of sending a search party out for you"._

"Bit hard when you're in the ass end of nowhere", Claudia snorted under her breath.

" _Someone there with you?"_ Sarah asked abruptly, clearly Claudia hadn't been as quiet as she thought.

Cosima turned the screen enough to squeeze herself and the red head into view, "Sarah this is Claudia Donovan, she works at the Warehouse".

"Keeps that damn place from falling down you mean", Claudia smirked, "seriously Artie should give me a pay rise". The red head stopped and glanced quickly between Sarah and Cosima, "Uh, yeah I see the clone thing now", she added calmly, "not the weirdest thing I've ever seen but it's certainly up there".

" _We're someone's freaky experiment with a multinational corporation on our backs",_ Sarah commented dryly, " _what could possibly be weirder than that?"_

Claudia grinned briefly, "This is totally one of those 'hold my beer' moments", she chuckled, "I've been sucked into a computer game, used a metronome to bring my dead partner back to life and saved my brother from a void that exists between universes", she reeled off without pause, "pretty sure I've time travelled at some point too or had time rewritten around me, the details Artie gave about that were a little hazy".

For a moment both clones were stunned into silence until Sarah uttered, " _You're either batshit crazy or a massive liar",_ she sniffed indignantly. Claudia thought didn't look overly offended and a mere shrug of her shoulders later she was focused on her laptop again, _"Did you find anything useful Cos?"_ the British clone asked.

"I think so, I'm just not sure what I've found", the American answered, "we're running some of Duncan's research through the Warehouse database to see if anything matches".

" _You think Duncan was involved in some crazy Warehouse stuff?"_ Sarah replied.

"If there's one thing I've learned in the last few months it's that what happens around us isn't just a coincidence", Cosima said gravely, "Duncan didn't seem too surprised to learn HG Wells was a woman and still alive-"

"So he probably had inside info about the Warehouse, I mean something like that isn't common knowledge", Claudia interrupted the conversation, earning a glare from Cosima, "sorry but we've got a ping".

"Already?" Cosima sounded surprised, "I thought this would take much longer".

Claudia turned her laptop around so Sarah could see the screen through the Farnsworth, "Well it would've except one of the compounds listed is fairly common in the Warehouse". She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a small clear container full of a thick, purple liquid, "Say hello to some Warehouse goo".

" _You just happened to have",_ Sarah shook her head a few times in utter disbelief at what she was seeing, " _you just carry that around with you? What the bloody hell is it anyway?"_

"This is a neutralising agent", Claudia answered, "if someone, mostly Pete, gets whammied by an artefact, we use this to counteract the effects". Another rummage through her pockets revealed a silver bag lined the same shade of purple as the liquid, "Its standard issue for Warehouse agents, never leave home without this or your Tesla".

Acting on a whim Cosima imported the formula for the liquid into her research into the clones DNA. Within a matter of seconds she found a similarity, "Look at this", she placed her laptop next to Claudia's, "this sequence is a ninety seven percent match for the goo".

" _Hang on Cos",_ Sarah began, " _are you telling us that our DNA contains that disgusting liquid"._

"Well not exactly", the American clone replied, "I'd have to analyse the data further but there are a couple of differences, firstly since we clearly don't look like Grimace's cousin they must've removed the purple out somewhere". The clone lowered her glasses slightly before replacing them, "Secondly its looks like whatever's in our DNA is doing the opposite to what the goo is designed to go".

The Farnsworth was silent for a moment before Sarah replied, " _Alright you've lost me"._

"Took that long?" Cosima offered her fellow clone a small smirk, "so the goo is meant to counter the effects of an artefact, well the sequence in our DNA is designed not to counter artefact energy, it's uncountering it". She paused for a moment before added, "Is uncountering even a word?"

" _What the hell would Duncan program that into our DNA",_ Sarah frowned, " _unless he used one of those artefact things during the creation process"._

"I think he did", Claudia interject, "I've got a second ping", she added and pulled up a Warehouse artefact report.

Cosima looked at the screen and frowned, "What on Earth is that?"

Claudia grinned, "That my perfect duplicates is the key to your creation", Cosima glanced at Sarah's imagine on the Farnworth, she wasn't sure if she should be excited or worried about this revelation.

 _ **A/N –**_ _Thought this would be a two shot, turns out my imagination had other ideas. Probably one more chapter of this length plus a shorter epilogue to come._


End file.
